


Coffee Thief

by Hongbinstaekwoon



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Boys Kissing, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Haru being Haru, M/M, Oneshot, Strangers to Lovers, coffee AU, makoto is clumsy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 05:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16152908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hongbinstaekwoon/pseuds/Hongbinstaekwoon
Summary: Haru always hated studying and knew he would procrastinate his work any chance that he could get. That's why he opted for doing his work at the on-campus coffeeshop, but he never expected that a run in with a random stranger could lead to this..





	Coffee Thief

**Author's Note:**

> The first part is entirely based on my friend having a run in at a coffeeshop. The rest are all my own brainfarts.
> 
> It's just Haru being Haru and Makoto being clumsy and lovable.

-I-

 

It’s not as much the scent of coffee itself, the calm atmosphere or the buzzing background noise that Haruka liked so much. It was the energy floating around of the other college students, working diligently and sometimes discussing the same problems he was struggling with during class as well. He would purposely sit close to other students from his class, never joining them despite their offers. Alone was where he was most comfortable anyways. This way he could focus on his studies without engaging in conversations that were to him, mostly worthless. Basically, he was listening in without putting effort into trying to figure out the problem. Haruka was quite a lazy soul in general and he was well aware of that himself, trying to procrastinate whenever it was possible. That’s why at home, he would be too distracted by anything going on around him. At least he could force himself to actually do his homework this way if he wanted to at least pass this year.

 

So that was why he ended up at the on campus coffeeshop once again, standing at the right side of the queue to wait for his order; a single coffee with a brownie. It’s not so much that he liked the taste of chocolate, but the sugar rush gave him enough energy to propel himself towards the end of his studying sessions.

 

But just when the barista set down a tray with what looked like his order and locked eyes with him to prepare herself to call out his name, a tall frame blocked his view and he was very confused by the outcome. The guy turned on his heels to walk away with his order and Haruka thought, maybe he saw wrong. But the alarmed barista calling out to the tall man made him realize that, nope. That dude just took his order.

 

“Sir? Sir! Is your name Haruka? I don’t think so.” The man turned back in surprise, peaking at the handwritten name on the tray he just took and widened his eyes in surprise.

 

“U-Uhm.. I-I’m sorry I ordered a brownie too and I thought..” He frantically looked around him, locking eyes with a girl standing on the side and waiting for her order as well, absentmindedly scrolling on her phone. He offered her the tray and completely ignored the actual Haruka’s plea for eye contact. “Your order.” The girl adverted her attention from her phone to the guy in front of her and quirked an eyebrow, noticing the tray after and glancing at the note.

 

“That’s not mine.” The tall man wanted to retort, but was cut off by someone tapping his back rather urgently. He turned around, coming face to face with a guy around his age. Usually, running into people made them very much aware of how big he was. But somehow the shorter man’s piercing sapphire had him more intimidated instead. A frown danced on Haruka’s face, getting impatient because he paid for hot coffee, not cold.

 

“I’m Haruka.” Realization dawned upon the other as he began to nervously shift in his place.

 

“A-ah sorry. This is yours.” He handed Haruka his tray, glancing at the barista who wasn’t paying attention to them anymore and let his eyes lock with Haruka’s again. The latter saw a flash of sympathy rather than embarrassment flash through the stranger’s eyes which confused him for a moment. “I understand. My name is Makoto, so I get the same.”

 

“…” And Haruka understood his mistake as well as the sympathy in having a girly name, it wasn’t the first time something like this happened so he didn’t mind it that much. And Makoto obviously shared that sentiment. But he wasn’t a man of many words anyways – why spend them on someone he barely knew. He finished the conversation with a slight nod of acknowledgement, turning his back to Makoto to go and find himself a spot. He lost enough studying time as it was already.

 

But he couldn’t help taking a small peak again, seeing that Makoto took his own respective tray now with rushed movements and clumsily made his way towards one of the empty booths, taking out some books of his own. His glasses stood at the tip of his nose and his unruly hair kept falling into his eyes. How someone like that could survive was a mystery to Haruka, but he kept an eye on him nonetheless. Because something about the tall and broad gentle giant kept him very intrigued, but he had yet to discover what exactly made him so interested in him.

 

-II-

 

The second time Haruka met Makoto, it was just a few days later. The latter hadn’t seen him yet, as he was still busy chatting with the barista, a different one from last time. It was a girl, one he had seen around campus. Normally Haru wouldn’t pay attention to other people around him, but he came to the café enough to recognize most of the fulltime workers. The look on her face though, was one he hadn’t seen before.

 

She was looking through her lashes, dared he say a flirtatious hint in her eyes. Her cheeks were slightly tinted and her movements were all a bit hasty and clumsy. If anything, she looked nervous to be talking to Makoto. This baffled Haruka, since Makoto seemed so clumsy himself that it was impossible to be even more uncoordinated than the big friendly giant. Makoto however didn’t seem to notice and just shot her a smile after finishing giving his order. He shifted to the side to go and wait for his latte without paying her a second thought. Haruka was in front of the register now, but she was still busy making googly eyes at the other and this annoyed him in some way or another. He cleared his throat to try and get her attention.

 

“S-Sorry sir, what can I get you?” Haru muttered the same drink and brownie he always ordered. “Name?” Haru glanced to his side for a moment, briefly wondering if he would recognize him, but he sighed. _‘Probably not.’_

 

“Haruka.” And that’s when he saw Makoto turn around, visibly happy to see him. Why would be a mystery to Haruka honestly since he hadn’t been nice to him in the slightest. It almost made him more surprised than the fact that he still remembered his name. Haruka moved to stand next to him and wait for his order – there wasn’t that much room to begin with. He noticed the order nervously fidget in his place and it actually amused him more than other people that were nervous around him. And those were a lot. Somehow, Makoto’s vibe seemed a lot more different than the usual mass around him.

 

“Hello, I don’t know if you still remember me but-“

 

“Makoto.” The mentioned brightened up once again, flashing him a smile that threw Haruka off because, was it possible to meet sunshine personified? Apparently, it was.

 

“You remembered! Woah that makes me pretty happy you know.” Haruka quirked an eyebrow, his face staying pretty stoic in general. The only question that ran around his mind being, _‘Why.’_

 

“How could I not remember the guy who tried to steal my food.” Makoto sucked in a breath, afraid that he had angered him by talking to him. But then he saw a playful smile form its way on Haruka’s mouth, albeit very small. He almost missed it, almost. And he let out a sigh of relieve.

 

“H-Haruka-san!” And Haru brushed passed him to get his tray to hide his growing smile as Makoto hurried to get his own. This was more interesting than Haru ever expected it to be.

 

-III-

 

Haru entered the café, being greeted by Makoto’s back. How did he know it was him? Simple. He easily stood a head above the general public, brown hair still as unkept but voluminous and fluffy at the same time. His shoulders were also a dead giveaway, looking even broader due to the green parka covering it.  He subtly made his way next to him, waiting for the other to notice – and he did.

 

“Ah, Haruka-san.” Haru gave him a curtious nod, albeit keeping the closed off expression on his face. Makoto’s eyes trailed to the book he was cradling against his chest and a flash of recognition shot through his eyes. “Oh, I study the same but I think we’re in different classes. It’s a fun subject.” Haru grimaced, obviously not sharing that sentiment.

 

“.. It’s difficult.” Makoto seemed to think for a second before he visibly brightened up.

 

“Want me to help you? I really like this subject and I used to tutor my siblings. I’m sure I can help you too.” Haru looked at Makoto for a second, analyzing his intentions. Why would a complete stranger offer his help, when his own classmates even looked ingenuine in their invites for him to join their study group? What would Makoto possibly gain from helping Haruka and his overall indifferent mood? But he could see nothing but sincerity, something Haru wasn’t used to seeing in anyone talking to him for that matter. Maybe, accepting his offer wasn’t that bad after all.

 

So here they were, going through the material and out of coffee and sweets. Haruka visibly had a hard time keeping up with everything and Makoto felt a bit bad for him, opting to offer him another beverage. “Haruka-san, do you want something else to drink?”

 

“.. Haru.” Makoto looked up to him with a questioning look, not even sure that he heard the other actually say something. Haruka sighed and softened his expression a bit. “I prefer being called Haru.”

 

“Alright, Haru.” And Haru would ignore the subtle flip of his stomach when the syllables of his name fell from Makoto’s lips.

 

-IV-

 

Ever since Makoto started calling Haru by this name, the latter was strangely aware how much he was accepting the previous stranger to invade his personal space. Instead of meeting by chance, Haru had given him his phone number so they could arrange meetings beforehand instead. He acknowledged Makoto around campus, instead of ignoring him as he did with all the others. He would also occasionally eat lunch with him whenever they bumped into each other and Makoto always shared his bento with him, while Haru insisted he was fine and he could just buy a sandwich instead. Even now that he was sitting beside him, his legs resting against Haru’s underneath the table with a faint, barely there pressure, he didn’t say anything about it. He knew Makoto had very long legs to begin with, that it probably meant nothing in hind sight- but why was it making him this nervous?

 

He thought back to the barista who seemed nervous around Makoto and wondered, what exactly about Makoto made her nervous? Was it the undeniably handsome profile of him? Or maybe it was those green deep eyes that seemed so open and kind to everyone. Or maybe it was his tall and broad build. Haru was sure that he had to work out, because the flannel blouse with rolled up sleeves that exposed his forearms made it very obvious that Makoto indeed had a muscular build. Haru briefly wondered if he would be in the gym, lifting weights as if they were nothing, sweat rolling down his frame as he-

 

“Haru? Are you listening?” Makoto turned to look at Haru and the latter realized that he had been staring at Makoto – again. Emerald met sapphire blue, and Haru felt his breath catch in his throat. Makoto chuckled and leaned over to point to a paragraph in Haru’s textbook, rambling on about the issue at hand and recapping what they discussed just to be sure Haru understood. Makoto was like that – considerate and dense Makoto.

 

He probably thought Haru just zoned out and was his typical silent self. Never suspecting the actual reason Haru’s just too caught up looking at Makoto once again. Haru first thought it was just because the other was undeniably handsome. He was never one to shy away from straying thoughts. And this time he realized, his motives were exactly the same as the barista’s. He didn’t think Makoto was just handsome, no. He was utterly and deeply attracted to him in a way he couldn’t understand before. And this was not exactly the best moment to realize that he had a huge crush on his friend.

 

He noticed the slight hint of foam resting at the other’s lip, left there to tease him after Makoto took a sip of his latte. Before he knew so himself, he leaned to his right, having to scoot almost flush against Makoto’s frame since he couldn’t quite reach him otherwise and used his thumb to wipe away the foam. 

 

Makoto was stunned, his eyes trying to search for Haru’s in a silent question of what he was doing, but the other was too focused on his task and too focused on his lips in particular. Then his eyes shot to Haru’s, way too close in the action and he wondered if Haru realized what he was doing. What _he himself_ wanted to do at this moment. “H-Haru..” This seemed to break the mentioned from his daydream, flinching back and nervously avoiding any eye contact.

 

“There was some foam on your lip.. latte..” Makoto let out a dry laugh.

 

“A-Ah I see. Thank you.” Haru only hummed in response. Makoto dismissed the ordeal and took Haru’s shift of concentration from his face to his own textbook as disinterest, it didn’t mean anything. But he couldn’t so easily dismiss how Haru didn’t create his distance once again but stayed close besides him and that his ears were a lovely shade of red.

 

-V-

 

It was a few weeks after the whole incident, the both of them choosing to ignore what had happened. They continued stealing glances at each other without the other noticing and for the biggest part they succeeded. But that didn’t mean that everyone else was blind.

 

“Haruka-san is already here.” Makoto looked at the barista who sported a knowing look and he blinked before glanced into the café. Haru had indeed already chosen a booth, sitting in the far back. He couldn’t actually see Haru, but the bright blue backpack with a dolphin keychain hanging from it was a dead giveaway. So, Makoto quickly ordered and made his way towards Haru. It was a little bit unusual for the latter to already take his seat since they always made sure to enter together, but it wasn’t entirely out of character either.

 

“Hi, Haru.” The mentioned glanced up from his book, locking eyes with the other and Makoto could see that he was happy to see him. Over the course of a few weeks, he’d come to learn that albeit not very expressive with words, Haru’s eyes held all of the answers he had been hiding. Like now, how they subtly seemed to sparkle just a bit, as still waters that reflected the stars in the night sky.

 

Makoto ignored his internal admiration for the raven-haired man and took a seat next to him, a little closer than usual.

 

“You’re early today.”

 

“Finals are close, I have to study a bit more..” And that’s when Makoto noticed the dark circles. It was obvious that Haru had been up until late last night and it probably was from studying and the stress of the oncoming exams. It made the other worried, but also a little proud. The unwillingness to study was replaced with an eagerness Makoto wasn’t used to seeing in him. Haru would never admit that the only reason for his motivation was seeing Makoto happy that he was taking his studies more serious. Because Makoto’s smiles were worth everything. His grades slowly creeping up were just a minor plus.

 

“Do you have any questions beforehand or do you want to start?” Haru seemed to ponder for a while and he went a few pages back in his book, pointing at a section that was familiar to Makoto since he had been struggling with it too.

 

“I don’t understand this part.” Makoto leaned a bit closer to read into the book, starting to explain his analyses to Haru. But after a few minutes, he was completely taken by the scent that was Haru. And he noticed a weight on his shoulder, a steady breath leaving his mouth.

 

“H-Haru?” But he was only met with a groan, the other pressing his face in his neck and wrapping an arm around his waist. Makoto’s heart began to thump loudly in his chest, feeling like it was about to burst. It was obvious that the other had just fallen asleep, a fairly innocent gesture. But the close proximity of Haru actually cuddling up to him – it was all too much for him to handle. He opted for silently taking his book off the table and try to read his paragraph over, but concentrating on his work was the last thing his mind decided to focus on.

 

Instead, he let his mind wander to Haru instead. He could not sense any hint of perfume – he didn’t seem like the type to wear it anyways. Instead he smelled clean, like he just took a bath. But the hint of his own personal scent lingered around and Makoto felt strangely intoxicated by it. Then he let his eyes wander to his arm, tightly secured around his abdomen. It somehow felt right, how he fit into his side and snuggled up to him like it was the most natural thing in the world. Makoto felt like a cheeseball for thinking this, but he was a snuggler in general so he didn’t let that bother him that much. He allowed his own arm to wrap around the other’s frame, hand settling on Haru’s side as he absentmindedly drew circles across the fabric of his shirt, feeling the other adjust and snuggle a bit closer with a content hum spilling from his lips. Makoto had to resist the urge to bury his beat red face in his hands because, this was way too damned cute.

 

It took a long while for Haru to start stirring awake. Maybe an hour or so, with Makoto’s tea long gone and replaced by a new one. Makoto was without a doubt highly embarrassed by the knowing look of one of the staff members’ face. But the girl just asked him if he wanted another drink and Makoto was sure that it wasn’t normal for this place to have waiters. He was thankful nonetheless.

 

Haru slowly blinked once his sleep drowsy state wore off, not quite understanding why he was so comfortable until he glanced down and then around him. And then it clicked. His eyes shot up to Makoto’s surprised ones. Haru sat up for a bit, but noticed he couldn’t go very far because Makoto’s hand was still very firmly placed on his side.

 

“Oh, you’re awake. Did you sleep well?”

 

“I-I..” _I’m sorry._ Makoto could read it from the embarrassed face. Not only for falling asleep on him, but literally _on_ him. But he tried to muster up a smile, one that he knew put the other at ease.

 

“It’s alright. I don’t mind.” Even though his expression was calm, Haru could see something that he couldn’t quite decipher yet. His cheeks were slightly tinted red, his eyes holding a timid shyness to it he wasn’t used to seeing in Makoto. He looked the way Haru always tried to hide from him whenever Makoto caught him staring. Because he liked Mako-

 

_Oh._

 

“Makoto?” The mentioned tilted his head a bit, like an obedient puppy listening to an order. Haru couldn’t help but smile a little bit. He raised the hand that was previously on Makoto’s side to shyly brush his fingers along his cheek before cupping it in his hand. He scanned the brunette in search of an answer and found surprise, uncertainty, muscles tense and he could feel every miniscule movement since he was still pressed  up against him. But he also didn’t see rejection, could still feel Makoto holding him in his place, green eyes staring back at him with the same intensity.

 

Letting out a deep breath and closing his eyes, Haru contemplated.. Was he really going to take the leap? When he opened them again, he saw that Makoto had closed his eyes as well, leaning into his touch and savouring it – since Haru’s physical signs were usually nonexistent. The slight tint of red still adorning the other’s face said enough for Haru and he moved his hand from the other’s cheek to the back of his head and pulled Makoto down to gently press his lips against the ones he had been staring at – craving for – for weeks now.

 

Makoto felt his breath catch in his throat, Haru’s lips feeling scorching hot against his own as he moved them against his in soft strokes. It was nothing like the bold moves Haru always portrayed, nothing like his usual confidence and Makoto could feel his chest swell because- he could only describe it as utterly and undeniably _cute_. He responded though, because in his opinion, this kiss was long overdue. He pulled Haru upright, pressing him into the corner of the booth and quickly taking over the kiss.

 

It didn’t take the two of them long before they became aware of their surroundings. They broke away, slightly embarrassed because of the limited stares. They luckily sat way in the back and Makoto did a good job in blocking Haru from prying eyes. But Haru’s face still resembled the colour of a tomato perfectly while Makoto’s face looked like it was about to crack in half since the smile he was sporting was a little too big. He leaned in, placing his face just next to Haru’s.

 

“Do you want to continue studying at my place?” Haru bit his shaking bottom lip to will himself to calm down before he allowed a small smile to return to his lips.

 

“I thought you’d never ask.”

 


End file.
